Is nursing really all that bad?
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Hello all,
I'm new on this site, and I also just started nursing school. I've been reading some of the posts about how bad nurses are treated and about the low pay, and all that sounds a bit... Read More

Jun 14, '02

Doesn't every RN no that RN stands for Registered NUT. Disabled
I can tell you after 1 8 y ears and being disabled that I truly miss the patient contact. RIght now I have some medical issues to deal with but when the tide turns someone has suggested getting into therapeutic touch. I have always been a centered person and I have seen babies born and that is a beautiful miracle but I have found more joy in working with the dying. In a way they have taught me to live as well as die when the time comes. Some will always be with me with the lessons they taught me and those you don't find in a textbook. Keep good thoughts for me. Recently, I found I had little growth hormone which had caused an enormous weight gain over the years and it has caused a lot of joint damage and DM 2. I ended up with bariatric surgery twice before this was found. I ended up with a real depression problem and I have to admit I had ECT which did make a difference. If I had the growth hormone my endocrinoloigist said I would never have had these things happen. The problem was noticed more than 6 years ago and I was never told until I had an MRI and it showed and even I could see it. The previous MRI 8 years ago was read as normal. My internist had me get the films and it is clear as day. The same radiologist read both. There also was no comparison made with the old and just by chance the gal in medical records mentioned it as I had forgotten and it was done outpatient and in FL. they only have to keep outpatient 7 years. The report said to purge. I have the report and films and if my insurance doesn'lt cover the growth hormone I know a radiologist that will. The doc said if the tests were available earlier I would have had a different life all together. The test was only started on adults 20 years ago. So in the next couple of weeks keep good thoughts that I get the med so that I can go back to the job I love and with its issues as you would have those anywhere. If any of the new grads or new nurses want an opinion on something to do with nursing they can email me at msilva16@cfl.rr.com. I will be impartial if it is a work situation or an issue with a patient. Remember get your golden year in and you can write your ticket anywhere. The starting in Fl is 29K with all kinds of sign on bonuses, educational assistance, moving assistance and some facilities are offering $7,500 for a down payment on a house. So the climate is warm and sunny so come on down Disabled

Jun 14, '02

Dave, I see you are a Florida neighbor. I am on the east coast about an hour from the mouse house. I went the community college route and now since I can't currently work am working on my BSN at UCF. Nurses I will tell you are the worst persons for giving peer support. But that is not why we do what we do. It is the patient in getting them through the day or night or making the feel a human touch as they die. This is so important and it is an area that is neglected. Your patients will teach you more than you will ever get from a textbook. They will teach you how to live and how to die with dignity. AIDS patients are usually abandoned by family and friends and all they want is for someone to hold them as they are scared. We can not judge as to how they got it as that is a nonissue. Many days I would go in to my older patients and tell them that I haven't had my hug today have they had theirs and I would give them a big hug. Sometimes it brought smiles and others tears which called for another one. That is what got me through some of the crazy days. I called the women mum and the men pops as long as they weren't confused then use their name. If you don't have a heart then you don't belong in nursing. Many nurses have lost it as many are burnt out already and the height of the shortage has yet to come. If you get WFTV out of Orlando one of their reporters Barbara West said that the starting salary for a new nurse was $29K but in the northeast it is doubled. But also remember their expenses are much higher and there ain't no snow to shovel here. You will find that you will have to give yourself a pat on the back sometimes because a lot of nurses don't have time to see the accomplishments of their colleagues. Good Luck in your studies as men are definitely needed as nurses because men can also be nurturing in their own way. Besides the older women love it. Don"t be offended if a female doesn't want you to care for here as I can assure you there are a lot more patients that can use your knowledge and skills. We would just switch patients if that was a request no big deal. If there is something you rather not do then ask a colleague and then do something for him/her. Once again good luck You can reach me at msilva16@cfl.rr.com

Jun 14, '02

Cheerfuldoer, welcome back to the world of academia. I had a degree in liberal arts and began a nursing program at 29 and graduated with my ADN at 32. Last year at 46 I began working on my BSN as I only had a few courses to take and they were mostly on line. If anyone is interested the University of Central Florida has an RN to BSN program either in the classroom or online. Clinicals are set up in your area with a proctor with at least a Master's level in nursing A nurse practitioner would qualify. Give it a thought I am taking one course a semester and if I am awake at 3am I can log on and take a test or respond to a weekly query. Most of the instructors are batting for the RN to BSN students as it looks bad if they fail. I have been able to maintain a A average in alll but one class. The class I truly dreaded Health Assessment was taught very well and the course was worth 303 points and I ended up with 297. I had started it last year and was failing. What a difference a year makes.

Jun 14, '02

Phantom RN I will have some salt to go along with the fries and please hold the pickles and lettuce because special orders upset us And don't forget the catsup as the government classifies it as a vegetable. Then to wash it all down with a supersized chocolate shake. Oh and apple pie too. What 2 apple pies for a dollar. Well, then hit me with them. And on my tombstone please write Here lies Disabled a victim of fast food but please have it your weigh
I too have thought long and hard about what I would do if I wasn't a nurse and it doesn't look to promising in anything else right now. I had taught and I can't understand why teachers are upset because they have 25 in the room with an assistant. Where I went to elementary we had 50. In high school 35 to 40 so why do they complain. I am sure someone else out of work wouldn't mind teaching. We have engineers teaching physics and chemistry and math to supplement the teachers in those areas.
I am sorry I waited till I was almost 30 before going into nursing but I had listened to the wrong person. The first day of clinicals I heard a man who had a heart valve replacement that was basically a basket and ball aparatus. You could hear it in the hallway. Sometimes it would wake up his wife and other times he couldn't sleep because it was like a freight train. I was hooked and I wasn't turning back untill I became disabled. I am doing everything to get back into the active status. Hopefully it won't be too long.

Jun 14, '02

Hello, Disabled:

I was a bit confused about the 29k salary you were talking about because I know for a fact that RNs this far south (Miami/Ft. Lauderdale) make much more than that. Yes, the sign-on bonuses are huge and they'll probably get even bigger before long. I plan to work full-time as an RN only for about year and then scoot off to to grad school to do the NA program, so I'm not too interested in any of those big bonuses and perks that have long-term commitment requirements attached.

And, to Scooby, I understand exactly what you are saying that nursing is a great career if you want to make positive difference in at least ONE person's life; that's the big difference between nursing and most other careers. Yes, I've heard that many nurses get burnt out after a while, but burnout is not so alien a concept to any profession.

Jun 14, '02

DaveFL, I am in the Brevard county and after 20 years and extra certifications and continued education, and differential I was just about $38K. I know that further south the pay scale increases as I had looked into positions some time ago. I have a friend whose home is here in Brevard county and her husband is here and she goes to New York and makes $60K by living with relatives because she can't make enough here. Every couple of months she comes home for a couple of weeks and goes back. The salary is down right lousy here in the central part of the state. Orlando also pays better but then there is the commute and an hour to work and home. Not for me.

Jul 5, '02

Hi, Dave:

I grew up in Hialeah, but now live in western PA. I am a nurse anesthetist and really love it. Started with an AD, went parttime to finish BSN and employing hospital paid 80% of that. Employing hospital paid entire tuition for anesthesia school--shortage getting severe. Have been CRNA ten years. Went into nursing for first time at age 30--went into anesthesia at 40.

Don't know your circumstances, but military-trained anesthetists receive some of the best education around, including regional anesthesia such as blocks and epidurals etc., something that is often blocked or restricted in CRNA training otherwise, because the MDs want to preserve their income. Consider the reserves, also, they will pay monthly stipend and repay most of education loans.

44% nurse anesthetists male, compared to 5% in nursing overall.

Fortunately, or unfortunately--depending on your POV--the male experience of nursing is not the same as the female experience. IMHO, neither the patients nor the physicians abuse the male nurse as much as they do the female ones.

I am sure you are aware of the politicking going on regarding nurse anesthetists: ASA wants money and control. So just be prepared.

Love the work, though. Like the money, too! Good luck to you.

Aug 3, '02

Well, you're probably not crazy. At least not yet. Nurse Anesth seems like a worthy and lucrative goal and I hope you do it. Stopping short of that goal? I wouldn't want to wish it on a dog. Being a "regular RN" is a thankless and burnout job. The reason for the "nursing shortage" is primarily the way nurses are treated. Many of us don't put up with it for long and get out of the field, regardless of the pay--usually low. By the way, according to the State of Florida website figures, the average hourly wage for Florida RNs is between $17 and $18/hour. Nurse Anesth pay might be worthwhile, plus you have a lot more independence and can command a lot more respect.
Best wishes.

Last edit by sjoe on Aug 22, '02

Aug 3, '02

crazy, i think not! if it was just money, many would have left this profession a long time ago. welcome to the board!

Aug 3, '02

welcome dave !

be sure to read l.rae's post, excellent !!

again, welcome and good luck !

Aug 5, '02

Dave,
There seems to be more than a few nurses who love to badmouth their own profession for any number of reasons. Some are justified, some are not. Like anything else, sometimes the negative stories get more press over the positive ones. I have been a "male" nurse for almost 30 years and I knew going in that I would have to work every other weekend, work 50% of the holidays, rotate shiftsand have my off time dictated by the needs of the floor. I also knew that everyone, everyone thinks they're underpayed no matter what the job. I started out at $4.00/hr. Some of us are called to be nurses and some choose it for themselves. Whichever one you are, know that if you continue to maintain your high ideals (in spite of the nursing shortage) and you give your patients 150% every day, you'll get more out of it than you put in.(And I don't mean burnout).
Nursing has and will always be a high stress but an immensely
rewarding profession. However, the altruism of past generations of nurses seems to have given way to the "What's in it for me" attitude. That's not all bad as nursing as a profession finds its voice. But too much of it in the workplace can be bad and I see the change in the priorities of the nursing students on our floor.
In conclusion, yes I would do it all over again in a heart beat and I'm very jealous of you as you are just starting out.
Good luck, Dave. So 'em whatcha got!

Oct 3, '02

Well everyone has seemed to cover my thoughts etc but anyways welcome to the board Dave.